2011 Denison Football Preview

It's year two under head coach Jack Hatem and this offseason has
had a markedly different feel to it than the summer of 2010.
Last year the hiring of Hatem ushered in a handful of new coaches
and entirely different system on both offense and defense.
This year, things seem more familiar around the cluster of offices
above Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, and they should. Hatem and
friends return 16 starters with nine coming back on the defensive
side of the football. That, combined with a return to the red
helmets of yesteryear, has everyone affiliated with Denison
football excited for Sept. 3 and the kickoff of the 2011
season.

"We feel like right now we are light years ahead of where we
were last year as both a coaching staff and as a program,"
commented Hatem. This team has taken it upon themselves to
set goals. As a group they have taken care of business."

"Last year, practice and the way we went about things was a huge
change for everyone. All of the change and expectations were
a little shocking to some. This year won't be that way.
Our returning guys know what to expect."

Denison posted a 4-6 record in 2010 with wins over Ohio
Wesleyan, Earlham, Hiram and Kenyon. This year's schedule is
identical to last year's schedule. The only thing that has
changed is last year's home games are now on the road, and vice
versa.

Below is a position-by-position look at the 2011 Big Red.

QUARTERBACK

In his first season as the team's starting quarterback
Max
Paulus started all 10 games and threw for the most
yards by a Denison quarterback since 2005. Paulus, who
returns in 2011 as a junior, threw for 1,916 yards and 13
touchdowns while completing 58 percent of his pass attempts.
Paulus' development over the course of the season was evident but
he will still have to fend off sophomore Lucas
Gorton, who will enter preseason practice pushing
Paulus for the starting job. Gorton appeared in four games as
a rookie.

RUNNING BACK

Honorable mention All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection
Sam
Fioroni is expected to take over the starting tailback
role following the graduation of John Wooden Award finalist Dan
Crawford. While splitting time in the backfield with Crawford
throughout 2010, Fioroni led the team in rushing with 547 yards and
seven touchdowns. Fioroni's rushing total ranked him in a tie
for sixth in the NCAC standings and his ability to break off a big
gain can give opposing defenses fits. Along with Fioroni will
be sophomore John
Wilson who played in all 10 games as a first-year,
mostly on special teams. Wilson has excellent speed and will
provide DU with a top-notch 1-2 punch in the backfield. Also
battling for time will be senior tailback Chris
Roth and junior Steven
Lilley who replaces departed senior Joe Lucking at
fullback and will also see time at H-back and tight end.

WIDE RECEIVER

The Big Red has plenty of veteran depth all over the field but
at wide receiver, Denison returns four seniors who have logged
significant playing time. Those four seniors are Lucas
Graham, Andy
Carpenter (pictured), Braden
Layer and Greg
Jones. Graham led the team with 38 receptions
for 430 yards in 2010 while Carpenter followed with 34 catches for
382 yards and one touchdown. The team's leader in receiving
touchdowns was Layer who didn't make the move to wide receiver
until the fourth quarter of week three against Hiram. A
converted quarterback, Layer saved the day with four catches for 75
yards in the final quarter and overtime versus the Terriers.
His 29-yard touchdown catch with 14 seconds left in regulation
forced overtime and helped the Big Red to the victory. Layer
would finish the year with 30 receptions for 319 yards and four
TD's.

TIGHT END

Junior Corey
Daff is the lone returning tight end to this year's
squad following the graduation of Shawn Eagle and Jake
Shafer. Daff, who is also a starting defenseman on the men's
lacrosse team, played in six games as a sophomore. He caught
11 passes for 92 yards and continued to improve in blocking
situations.

OFFENSIVE LINE

There may not be a position that holds as much influence over
the potential to a successful season as this year's offensive line
contingent. Two starters and three regulars from last year's
team return along with a handful of others who will be battling for
spots in the starting lineup. Senior Joe
Romanowski (pictured) returns to one of the tackle
positions after earning honorable mention all conference as a
junior. Also back after starting nine games as a first-year
is tackle, Matt
Cochran. After battling injuries throughout
2010, senior two-year starter Ed
Hebb also returns to fight for time in the
trenches. Other returnees in the mix are junior Luke
Lewis and Tyler
Gropp as well as sophomore Tom
Dacey and Danny
Webb.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Another extremely experienced area of this year's team falls in
the defensive line where last year's top seven all return to the
mix. Defensive ends Nat
Kell and Lane
Hartfield started every game last year and both had
breakout campaigns. Kell was named to the all-conference
squad after leading the NCAC in tackles for a loss and finishing
third in sacks. Hartfield would post 36 tackles to go along
with his 6.0 tackles for a loss. Also returning on the edge
will be junior Charlie
Baker who notched 10 tackles and one sack in five
games as a sophomore.

On the interior of the defensive line, junior Adam
Murray returns along with seniors Jerome
Ray and Anthony
Zarate and sophomore Winters
Heafey. Murray, Ray and Zarate played in all 10
games last year while Heafey appeared in nine. At nose guard,
Murray plugged up the middle while posting 37 tackles and 1.5
sacks. Heafey came on strong late, posting 16 tackles and two
sacks.

LINEBACKER

Four veterans return at linebacker, paced by junior Eric
Conrad, sophomore Joel
Elliott and senior Adam
Frudden. Conrad finished the year third on the
squad with 50 tackles as a sophomore while starting nine of 10
games. Elliott started the final five games of the season
following Frudden's season-ending injury against Case Western
Reserve. Elliott would post 28 tackles in his first season
with the Big Red. Frudden, who opened 2010 as the starter and
made 30 tackles in the opening four games, seems fully recovered
from his injury. Also looking to contribute at linebacker
will be senior Lucas
Meyer.

CORNERBACK

Senior Pat
Effinger (pictured) returns to his starting spot at
cornerback and fellow senior Drew
Clanin enters as the early favorite to replace
graduating senior Tyler Lambert. Both Clanin and Effinger
have played considerable amounts over the last two seasons.
Effinger posted 39 tackles and two interceptions last year while
Clanin ended with 21 tackles and a team-high four passes
defended. Backing up at cornerback will be sophomores
Riley
Tight and Tyler
Moseley.

SAFETY

Like the defensive line, Hatem returns a boat load of talent and
experience at safety. Senior Scott
Baird (pictured) is the returning free safety.
In 10 starts a year ago, Baird turned in 57 tackles and two
interceptions. Juniors Cale
Garverick and Alex
Sycher return at the field and boundary positions,
respectively. Sycher led the team in tackles with 68 and
finished second in the NCAC in tackles by a defensive back.
Garverick was fourth in tackles while leading the squad in
interceptions with three. Also fighting for time will be
junior Nate
Scheidler, and sophomores Jack
Varanese and Kyle
Green.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Senior punter and placekicker Matt
Ring returns for his senior season. He spent
2010 as the full-time punter and following the graduation of Kevin
Schneider he is the favorite to assume the kicking duties. He
averaged 36.0 yards per punt last year while placing nine punts
inside the 20-yardline. In the return game, Fioroni led the
conference in kick return average at 21.2 yards per return.

RECRUITING CLASS

Along with the returning veterans, 23 first-year players will
enter preseason training camp on Aug. 13. "We're very excited
about the quality of this recruiting class," stated Hatem.
"We can't wait to get them on campus and work them into our
existing team.

SCHEDULE

Denison opens their 2011 season on Saturday, Sept. 3 under the
lights in Delaware against Ohio Wesleyan University. The
following week they will travel to Richmond, Ind. for a 1 p.m.
kickoff against Earlham College. On Sept. 17 the Big Red will
open their home schedule with a 7 p.m. game against Hiram
College. Saturday Sept. 24 will be the annual Big Red Weekend
as DU hosts Case Western Reserve at 1 p.m. at Piper Stadium.
Five of the final six games of the 2011 season will be NCAC
contests with home games against Oberlin and Kenyon and road
contests against Wooster, Allegheny and Wabash.